May Seconds and Other Fateful Days
by GleeHPandMe
Summary: Collection of short stories set on the anniversaries of the Battle of Hogwarts. Follows Harry, the members of Dumbledores Army, and their families as they navigate through the pain of remembering that fateful day.


Hello! This idea just sort of came to me but essentially this story is going to be a collection of one-shots focused on the anniversaries of the Battle of Hogwarts. At the beginning of every chapter is a list of the ages of a bunch of the characters because it won't be in chronological order. Please review and let me know if you have any ideas or requests of any type. This first story is set in 2000, on the second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Bill: 29

Charlie: 27

Percy: 23

George: 22

Ron:20

Ginny: 18

Harry: 19

Hermione: 20

Teddy: 2

Victoire: 1

They said the grief would get easier and the pain would fade eventually. In some ways it did. No longer was the pain of loss gripping at them everyday, pulling them to the ground but was recurring, only present some days. Like today. May 2, 2000. The second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ginny could feel the pain today. From the first blink of her eyes, her brain flooded with images of Fred, Tonks, Lupin and all the others they had lost. She rubbed her weary eyes and nuzzled into Harry's neck. She knew once he woke up, he would be all over her, making sure she wasn't upset, concealing his own anguish. She let him sleep.

Kingsley had somehow persuaded Harry to speak at the annual memorial in the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch despite how desperately Harry did not want to. They compromised, agreeing that Harry would give a short address, and Hermione would speak for the three of them. All of Dumbledore's Army's key players as well as important Order of the Phoenix operatives were to be seated on the stage built for the event with Harry right smack dab in the center. Which he hated. She knew that he was dreading the event and she hated that he wasn't able to mourn in peace on this most tragic of days.

The house was unusually quiet. By eight o'clock, Teddy would usually be toddling all of the place, squealing and laughing as he turned his hair all colors of the rainbow. But this morning, he was at his grandmother's after Harry and her had agreed that he would be less than happy sitting on a podium all day.

Harry too woke just a bit later.

"Morning, love." Ginny said pecking his nose as she noticed her boyfriend beginning to rouse.

"Hmmm, morning." He replied, sleep heavily coating his voice. Ginny took his deep sleep as a good sign; it meant he hadn't suffered from nightmares. He climbed out of bed and retreated to the bathroom.

"How'd you sleep?" She called through the door.

"Alright." She heard him call back, "How 'bout you?"

"Fine." She responded. Coming out of the bathroom, he pulled her into a kiss.

"Good." He said once their lips broke.

"Ready for today?" She asked as they both started to get dressed.

"S'pose that I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He answered as he tucked a couple of notecards into his breast pocket. "You doing okay?" He asked gently, his voice more soft.

She nodded, "I miss him today." She whispered.

He moved over to wrap her in his arms. He didn't need to say anything, his hug said more than he could ever vocalize.

Sitting in the hot May sun, Harry wished he was anywhere else. Staring at him was the majority of the British wizarding population sitting in a magically enhanced stadium. He wished he could hold Ginny's hand but she was a couple people to his right with the rest of the Weasley clan. Next to her, Bill was clearly yearning for his little girl who turned one today and had stayed at home with her mommy. Harry settled for holding Hermione's outstretched hand to the left and Ron's to the right. He would have preferred Ginny's but it felt right to be next to his two best friends.

"Now, it is my great honor to introduce to you today's biggest heros. At only twenty years old, they are recognized the world over for bringing about the end of Lord Voldemort's reign. Our first speaker is known by many names; the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, and most recently Auror. He is a man of outstanding courage and selflessness. Along side his two best friends, he brought order and light back to world and today I am privileged to introduce Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger."

Harry stood up and exchanged a quick glance with Ginny, who winked. With a deep breath, he drew out his wand and magically amplified his voice.

"Thank you Minister. Only, I'm nineteen, not quite twenty." There was a chorus of laughter that made Harry feel more at ease. From behind him, he could hear Ginny's distinctive snicker.

"But I really do appreciate what you said. I'm so lucky to be standing up here. So many people weren't as lucky as I. They are remembered in our hearts and the sacrifices they made are never forgotten. Today, I have Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Fred Weasley in my heart among many others. I'm sure every person in this stadium could give me three names of the people they are mourning today. The progress we have made in rebuilding our society is in their honor. We are not quite there yet. The aurors are busy at work making our world safer for all of us, I know this because I am one of them. Students are starting to learn about today at Hogwarts. And our government is working to rebuild itself. I ask for every person today to both remember those that we have lost and look forward to all we can do. Thank you." The crowd went crazy, applauding with all their heart and soul. He was touched. Looking behind him, his eye caught on Mrs. Weasley who was crying. Through her tears, she could see her smiling at him, her eyes glinting with pride. Scanning the line of Weasleys, he couldn't help but notice George's absence. As if reading his mind, Ron shook his head a little and shrugged his shoulders just a tiny bit.

As the crowd died down, Hermione, stepped forward from her place gripping Ron's hand and addressed the gathering. Harry receded back, standing next to Ron. He turned to whisper to his friend, but found Ron staring at Hermione, so utterly enamored and captivated by her that Harry knew it would be futile to try to communicate with him. He turned back behind him and caught Ginny's eye. She was holding Bill's hand on one side and her father's on the other and her eyes were watery and red. She gave him a small smile though, and he felt his heart soar.

Hermione gave a touching speech. Fantastic actually. Harry knew it would go down in history books and he was doing his best not to let threatening tears slip down his face. She stepped down and the three of them hugged as Kingsley regained his position. They took their seats and a couple more ministry officials gave remarks.

After the ceremony, the whole family was going back to the burrow. Ginny pulled Harry aside in the rush to apparate. She kissed him, passionately, arm encircled around his neck.

"You were great." He looked into her bright brown eyes, tinted with red.

"Marry me."

"What?"

"Marry me. I love you. Marry me." He repeated while she stared at him open mouthed.

"Okay." She finally replied.

"Okay?"

"Okay, I'll marry you."

"Okay. We're getting married."

"Okay." She said with a little smirk coating her face.

That night, they had reason to celebrate. Even, Ron, by far the least excited by the pairing, had to admit that he was happy for them. Molly pulled out the champagne and they toasted a young couple heading to marriage. She cried, but for a different reason than that morning, exclaiming that she couldn't wait for Harry to really be her son. Even George descended the stairs from the bedroom and made an appearance. Patting Harry on the back, he warned him never to hurt his sister.

"I would tell you that I would hex you if you so much as made her cry but I'm pretty sure she can handle herself. So, just be good to her cause she's the only sister we've got."

Looking at Ginny's smile as she chatting with Hermione and her mum, he grinned.

"Don't worry, I couldn't hurt her if I tried."


End file.
